


Kindred Spirits

by xenosaurus



Category: Persona 4, Persona Series
Genre: Coming Out, Friendship, Gen, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, M/M, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-13
Updated: 2019-07-13
Packaged: 2020-06-27 17:17:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,205
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19795423
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xenosaurus/pseuds/xenosaurus
Summary: Souji has a last moment of hesitation, then decides to just go for it.  “I like guys too.”





	Kindred Spirits

**Author's Note:**

> atlus can't keep souji from supporting kanji if I write the content myself. I might write more scenes for this because I just love these two having a lot in common, they're good kids.
> 
> also, a big mushy thank you to my beta, benny! I'm love you

Yosuke is Souji’s best friend, but there are definitely days when he wants to shake him until the stupid falls out. Today is one of those days, and, as usual, it’s because of some nasty comment he made about Kanji’s dungeon.

What he actually said to Kanji doesn’t bear repeating, and Kanji only gets halfway through the resulting threats of violence before Souji shuts the whole thing down.

“Okay! Everyone stop,” he says, putting down his steak skewer. Yukiko and Chie, who were watching the exchange with distaste, give him their full attention. Kanji gives Yosuke a final glare before the two of them follow the girls’ example.

“Yosuke, we have _talked_ about this,” Souji says sternly, because god, have they ever. There’s been an improvement, but every couple weeks it’s like Yosuke suddenly forgets Kanji is his friend for a few minutes and says something awful.

“Sorry, Partner,” Yosuke mumbles, looking appropriately embarrassed.

“I’m not the person you should be apologizing to,” Souji says, still in his leader voice.

“Sorry, Kanji-kun,” Yosuke says, not quite making eye contact. Kanji steps back out of punching radius and shifts uncomfortably.

“Yeah, well. Just stop saying shit like that. ’s not like it’s true anyways,” Kanji grumbles.

Souji takes a long look at him, noting the tense, defensive set of his shoulders and the discomfort on his face. He makes a choice.

“Kanji-kun, can I talk to you?” Souji asks, dropping the leader voice but not really dipping all the way back down to casual. Kanji looks surprised. It’s usually Yosuke that Souji takes aside after these arguments.

“Uh, yeah, Senpai, sure.”

“Chie, you can have the rest of my steak,” Souji says, nudging his food towards her as he stands up. The girls look concerned, although Chie does accept the meat without question.

“Are you going to be back?” Yukiko asks, frowning.

“Yeah, in a bit. Come on, Kanji-kun, let’s go for a walk.”

Kanji follows him, looking confused, and Souji can hear the girls giving Yosuke a hard time as they leave the Junes food court. He’d feel bad about leaving him alone with them if he didn’t deserve it quite so much.

They don’t talk on the way out of Junes, which isn’t actually all that weird. Souji is quiet by nature, and most of his friends either fill the silence or follow his lead, depending on the situation. Kanji doesn’t speak up until they’ve found a bench outside that’s free of potential eavesdroppers. Before Souji can invite his friend to sit down, Kanji breaks the silence.

“So, uh. Did I screw up?” Kanji asks.

“What? No, of course not,” Souji says, frowning.

“Oh. Usually you bring Yosuke-senpai over here to yell at him.”

Souji laughs a little and shakes his head. “Okay, that’s fair. You didn’t do anything wrong, though. I just wanted to talk to you one on one.”

“About what?” Kanji asks, back to looking confused.

Souji has a last moment of hesitation, then decides to just go for it. “I like guys too.”

“I don’t--!” Kanji starts, but then he actually seems to realize what Souji just said. His facial expression goes through a lot of changes over the next five seconds. The primary one seems to be ‘shock’.

“Woah. Wait, seriously? You’re not messing with me, right?” Kanji asks, back on guard, although not as much as he was back in the food court.

“Not at all. I haven’t told anyone else, but I thought you deserved to know. Do you want to sit?”

Kanji doesn’t look like he really processes that question.

“Woah. Senpai-- Woah.”

“I think you should probably sit down,” Souji says, putting a hand on his friend’s arm.

“Yeah,” Kanji says, and accepts Souji’s gentle nudge towards the bench as the cue it is. Souji sits down next to him, close enough that their knees touch. Kanji seems to take a moment to think this through, then suddenly turns to look at Souji.

“Hold on, if you like guys, then all that shit Yosuke-senpai’s been saying must’ve been buggin’ you too!”

Souji sighs. “It hasn’t exactly been the highlight of our friendship.”

Kanji glares at him, a look Souji is quickly learning means ‘angry but not necessarily at you’.

“You sure you don’t want me to kick his ass?”

Souji smiles at him and shakes his head.

“Kind of you to offer, but I don’t think that would help.”

“Might get him to shut his damn mouth,” Kanji grumbles.

“It hasn’t worked when Chie’s tried it,” Souji points out. Kanji accepts that with a reluctant shrug.

“So… When you said my, uh. The bathhouse. When you said it didn’t freak you out or nothing, you weren’t just being nice? It really didn’t bother you?”

Souji hums thoughtfully.

“It was challenging, but only in the way everyone’s shadows are. It was something private that you didn’t want people to see, so it was uncomfortable to see it exposed. But as for what it was actually saying, that didn’t bother me,” Souji looks over at Kanji, who is staring at him very intently. “If anything, I empathize.”

“But-- you’re the manliest guy I know! You don’t gotta worry about that crap! You’re super cool!”

“I don’t think you should have to worry about it either, Kanji-kun. It was incredibly close-minded of people to give you a hard time for who you are-- there’s nothing wrong with liking boys _or_ sewing.”

Kanji ducks his head and rubs the back of his neck, clearly overwhelmed. “Heh. That’s… a little easier to believe when it’s you saying it, Senpai.”

“So talk to me,” Souji says. “It’s always easier to figure things out with an outside perspective. I’m here for you whenever you need me.”

“Senpai… Yeah. Yeah, okay.” Kanji really smiles now, honest and appreciative. Souji smiles back at him.

“Good. You can rely on me.”

“Damn, Senpai. You really are the coolest. I’ll find some way to pay you back, I swear!”

Souji laughs softly and shakes his head. “We’re friends, Kanji-kun. You don’t have to worry about repaying me. I like spending time with you.”

Kanji’s face flushes. “Oh.”

“Speaking of which, I don’t think we’re going into the TV today. After we’re all done hanging out, do you want to come over for dinner? I can introduce you to the neighborhood cats on the way over.”

Kanji looks almost as surprised as he did when Souji came out to him. “Isn’t your uncle a cop? Won’t he freak out, with me… bein’ me and all?”

“I’ll vouch for you, if he’s even home. It’s usually just me cooking for myself and my cousin.”

“Then-- Yeah!! That sounds awesome!”

“Great. We’ll grab some ingredients before we leave Junes. Ready to head back to the others?”

“Oh, yeah, sure!” Kanji gets up from the bench, but hesitates before actually heading back towards the food court. “Uh. Before we go back… Thanks, Senpai. For telling me. That takes guts.”

Souji smiles. “Less than you’d think. I already knew I could trust you not to react poorly or tell anyone.”

Kanji’s eyes practically sparkle. “I’ll take your secret to the grave, Senpai!! You can count on me!!”

“The feeling is mutual.”

**Author's Note:**

> my tumblr is [xenosaurus](https://xenosaurus.tumblr.com)


End file.
